Intermezzo, Sally Rooney

From the author of the multimillion-copy bestseller Normal People, an exquisitely moving story about grief, love and family. Aside from the fact that they are brothers, Peter and Ivan Koubek seem to have little in common. Peter is a Dublin lawyer in his thirties - successful, competent and apparently unassailable.

But in the wake of their father's death, he's medicating himself to sleep and struggling to manage his relationships with two very different women - his enduring first love Sylvia, and Naomi, a college student for whom life is one long joke. Ivan is a twenty-two-year-old competitive chess player. He has always seen himself as socially awkward, a loner, the antithesis of his glib elder brother.

Now, in the early weeks of his bereavement, Ivan meets Margaret, an older woman emerging from her own turbulent past, and their lives become rapidly and intensely intertwined. For two grieving brothers and the people they love, this is a new interlude - a period of desire, despair and possibility - a chance to find out how much one life might hold inside itself without breaking. Readers love Intermezzo:????? 'An intimate and emotional read .

I put the book down feeling that I am richer for having read it.' Megan????? 'A beautifully written book with characters that capture the heart of the reader.' Sinead????? 'I'm envious of anyone yet to read this, you're in for a treat.' Anon????? 'The characters are brilliant; complex, heartful, raw and impactful.' S. Payne????? 'Shows dazzling skill but also heart-wrenching compassion and humanity.' Tom